Special counter mechanism



Dec. 28, 1954 M. A. GOODBAR ETAL 2,698,138

SPECIAL comma MECHANISM Original Filed July 17, 1948 lllllfi i FIG.3 mm g b 6l2 I10 I INVENTORS F |e.4 W .2;E#+.2PL%? E we 59s a CARL s. FALKNER M (595 A ZMI M UUYJQSJXJSL I ns 59a" THEIR ATTORNEYS United States Patent SPECIAL COUNTER MECHANISM Mayo A. Goodbar, Everett H. Placke, and Carl G. Falkner, Dayton, Ohio, assiguors to The National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Original application July 17, 1948, Serial No. 39,278, now

Patent No. 2,616,623, dated November 4, 1952. Divided and this application November 14, 1951, Serial 2 Claims. (Cl. 235-91) This application is a division of application Serial No. 39.2.78, filed July 17, 1948, now Patent No. 2,616,623, issued November 4, 1,952.

This invention relates to special counter mechanism for accounting and like machines.

.The object of the invention is to provide a special counter mechanism which is controlled for operation by a total-taking key to count the number of times a plurality of totalizers are reset to zero.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a count.- iug mechanism to count the number of times a series of totals are printed, which counter is controlled by a totaltaking key, when operated, to cause the counter to be advanced one during the first total-taking operation of a series of operations, and the counter is controlled to prevent any further advance of the counter during subsequenttotal-taking operations, even though the total key is again moved.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended claims and a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of. this specification.

In said drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the special counter mechamsm.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the special counter mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the locking control slide and the mechanism fo operating same.

Fig. 4 is a detail, view of the. key detent.

General description The accounting machine disclosed in the abovementioned parent case is provided with two lines of wellknown interspersed totalizers. For recording the totals standing on each totalizer, the machine is conditioned for a total-taking operation by depression of a Total key. The machine is also provided with the usual keys for selecting the totalizers from which the total is to be taken during the ensuing operation of the machine. In order to control fraudulent operations, a special counter is provided, which is advanced one during the first total-taking operation of the machine. When: the authorized person clears the totalizers: inthe machine, he usuallyclears them all inaseries of machine operations. The novel mechanism disclosed herein prevents advance of the counter during all operations following the first total-taking operation of such a series of operations.

Detailed description In the use of the machine as illustrated in the parent case, the totalizers on the rear totalizer line are usually reset at the end of a days business, and all are reset in one series of operations. In order to reset these totalizers, a reset key 117 is depressed, and thereafter one of the totalizer-selecting keys is depressed, depending upon which totalizer is to be reset. To reset all of the totalizers on the rear totalizer line, eight separate reset operations are performed for each series of reset operations. In order to check on the number of series of reset operations performed, so as to detect any fraudulent resetting operations, a special counter 1041 (Figs. 1 and 2) is provided.

A unit is added into the special counter 1041 during the first operation of a series of reset operations. During the reset operation subsequent to the first of the series, the operating mechanism for entering the unit into the special counter is disabled. I

The special counter consists of three wheels 1041, rotatably mounted on a shaft 1042. Each wheel 1041 is provided with a ratchet wheel 1043 engaged. by a pawl 1044 on a yoke 1045 pivoted on the shaft 1042. The.

shaft 1042 is mounted on the keyboard end plate 133. A spring 1046, stretched between a stud on the keyboard frame and a stud 1047 on one arm of the yoke 1045, normally maintains the yoke 1045 in contact with a stud 1048 on the reset key 117. Depression of the reset key 117, acting through the stud 1048, rocks the yoke 1045 clockwise (Fig. 1), and the pawl 1044, engaging the ratchet wheel 1043, enters 1 into the units order wheel 1041.

The pawl 1044 consists of a member having three fingers, one extending into the path of, so as to engage with, a ratchet wheel of each of the special counter wheels 1041. Each counter wheel is also provided with anotched disc having its notch in the nine position to provide for tens transferring between the lower and. higher order wheels 1041 when the lower order wheel passes from 9 to 0 in the manner well known in the art. To effect tens transfers, the pawl 1044 is made of spring steel, and the higher order fingers of the pawl 1044 are normally held out of engagement. with the ratchets of the higher order wheels tmtil the notched disc comes under the finger and permits the finger to drop into said notch, thereby permitting the next higher order finger to engage with the ratchet wheel of its associated wheel to add 1 into the next higher order wheel when. the reset key 117 is depressed and the lower order wheel moves from 9 to 0.

A non-retrograde-movement pawl 1049' is provided, having three fingers, one engaging. each of the ratchet wheels 1043 to prevent retrograde movement of the totalizer wheel 1041 when the pawl 1044 is restored to its normal position. The pawl 1049 is carried by the keyboard side frame by two studs 1050'. This pawl 1049 is made of spring steel, so as always to come into contact with the ratchet wheels 1043.

In order that the special counter will be advanced "1 for only the first reset operation of a series, a means: is provided to prevent the yoke 1045 from being restored to normal position at the end of the first reset opera.- tion. To prevent such restoring movement of the yoke 1045, a spring-urged blocking member 1051, in. the form of a yoke having a blocking finger 1052, is provided, which finger moves into the path. of return: movement of an arm 1053 of the yoke 1045 when the reset key is depressed. The spring-urged blocking member 1051 is: pivotally mounted on a short shaft 1054, carried by two angle brackets 1055 mounted on the keyboard frame bottom plate 147. A spring 1056, one end of which; is hooked around an arm on the springrurged member'1051' and the other end of which bears against the bottom. of the keyboard frame 147, urges the spring-actuated member 1051 clockwise (Fig. 2). Depression of the reset key 117 rocks the yoke 1045 clockwise (Fig; 1.) and withdraws its arm. 1053 from the path of the: blockingfinger 1052 and permits the spring 1.0516 to move the blocking finger 1052 beneath the arm 1053 and into an opening 1057 in the end plate 133 of the keyboard frame. The blocking finger 1052 remains in this position at the end of the reset operation and prevents the yoke 1045 from returning in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 1) when the reset key 117 is released. If the reset key 117 is depressed during the next succeeding operation, no advance is made in the special counter, inasmuch as the yoke 1045 is held in its moved position by the blocking finger 1052, and therefore the pawl 1044 is not effective to add 1 into the units order wheel.

Means is provided for withdrawing the blocking finger 1053 during the first operation following a reset operation in which the reset key 117 is not depressed. This means includes a link 1060 (Figs. 1 and 2) guided for up-and-down movement on a stud 1061 carried by the vPatented Dec. 28, 19 54 side frame 180. The link 1060 is carried on an arm 1062 pivoted on a stud 720, carried on the framework of the machine, as fully illustrated in the parent case. The arm 1062 is provided with a toe 1063 normally engaging a stud 1064 on a bell crank 901.

During an operation of the machine in which the reset key 117 is not depressed, when a stud 906, supported by a cam 723, engages the bell crank 901 and rocks it counter-clockwise in the manner described in the parent case, the stud 1064, engaging the toe 1063, rocks the arm 1062 counter-clockwise, thus raising the link 1060 to engage an angularly-bent-over end 1065 thereon with an extension 1066 of the spring-urged blocking member 1051. Engagement of the bent-over end 1065 with the extension 1066, when the link 1060 is raised, rocks the blocking member 1051 counter-clockwise to withdraw the finger 1052 from beneath the extension 1053 of the yoke 1045. This releases the yoke 1045 to the action of its spring 1046 and permits it to be restored counter-clockwise until arrested by contact with the stud 1048 on the reset key, which during this operation is in its undepressed position.

When the link 1060 is released by the stud 906 passing from beneath the bell crank 901, the spring 1056 rocks the blocking member 1051 clockwise. At this time, the arm 1053 is again in the path of the spring-urged blocking member 1051, and therefore the blocking member comes to rest against the side of the arm 1053 in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The stud 906 is carried by one of the cam plates- 723, on main shaft 229, of the first transaction bank difierential, and therefore the link 1060 is raised and lowered twice during each reset operation. When the link 1060 is raised and the reset key 117 is in its depressed position,

the stud 1048 holds the yoke 1045 in its moved position.

During this operation, the raising of the link 1060 merely withdraws the blocking finger 1052 from beneath the yoke 1045, and, when the link 1060 is lowered, the blocking member again enters the opening 1057 in the keyboard end plate 133. The rocking movement of the blocking member 1051 during such an operation is therefore idle. However, when the machine is operated without the reset key 117 depressed, then, when the link 1060 is raised to withdraw the blocking member 1051 from its eifective position, the yoke 1045 is permitted to move to its normal position, and the blocking member 1051 cannot re-enter the opening in the end plate 133.

Key detent The release key 117 is held in depressed position during maintains a cam edge 598 of the detent against the stud 1048 on the key 117. Depression of the key 117 wipes its stud against the cam edge 598 to cam the detent to the left (Fig. 4) until the stud 1048 passes beyond the cam edge 598, whereupon the spring 596 snaps the detent to the right and over the stud 1048 to maintain the key 117 in depressed position. Near the end of the machine operation the detent 595 is moved to the left by a release mechanism to release the depressed key 117.

As fully described in the parent patent, the machine is provided with a machine release shaft 264, which shaft is rocked counter-clockwise (Fig. 3) when the machine is released for operation by depressing a release key, as is well known in the art. Near the end of the machine operation the release shaft is rocked clockwise, during which operation the detent 595 is shifted leftwardly (Fig. 4) to release the key 117 to the action of a restoring spring 170, described in the parent case.

The release shaft 264 has secured thereto an arm 615, provided with a stud 611 engaging a notch in a locking control slide 612 slidably mounted between the four studs 176. Near the end of the machine operation when the shaft 264 is rocked counter-clockwise (Fig. 3) the arm v615 shifts the slide 612 leftwardly, and during this movement the left hand end of the slide engages a stud 614 on the detent 595 to shift the detent leftwise, and thereby withdraws the detent from engagement with the stud 1048, and releasing the key 117 to the action of the spring 170.

While the form of mechanism shown and described herein is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form or embodiment disclosed herein, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other forms.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the class described provided with mechanism to reset a totalizer to zero, the combination of a manipulative device movable from a normal position into an operated position to control the machine for reset operations; means to release the manipulative device to return to normal position at the end of the machine operation; a counter; an actuator to actuate the counter; means on the manipulative device to operate said actuator upon manipulation of the manipulative device to thereby enter a digit into the counter; latch means to automatically latch the actuator in operated position when the actuator is operated by the manipulative device to prevent the actuator from being restored from said operated position when the manipulative device is released at the end of a machine operation; and power-operated means to withdraw said latch means to release the actuator during an operation in which the manipulative device is in normal position, said manipulative device when in manipulated position, prevents restoration of the actuator when the power-operated means withdraws the latch means.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a manipulative device movable from a normal position into an operated position; means to release the manipulative device to return to normal position; a counter; an

actuator for the counter; means on the manipulative device to operate said actuator upon movement of the manipulative device from the normal position into the operated position; latch means to automatically latch the actuator in operated position when the actuator is operated by the manipulative device to hold the actuator in said operated position after the manipulative device is restored to normal position; and power-operated means to withdraw said latch means during every machine operation, said manipulative device, when in operated position preventing the actuator from being restored when the latch means is withdrawn by the power-operated means, said actuator being restored during operations in which the manipulative device is in normal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,241,272 Robertson et al. May 6, 1941 2,363,114 Britten, Jr. Nov. 21, 1944 2,436,668 Podenphant Feb. 24, 1948 2,567,393 Niemi Sept. 11, 1951 

